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Willful neglect means a conscious, intentional failure or
reckless indifference. United States v. Boyle, supra at 245.
In the instant case, petitioner's 1987 income tax return was
due, considering extensions, on October 15, 1988. Petitioner
filed his return on November 4, 1992, well after the due date.
Petitioner alleges that his return was untimely due to his
inability to obtain access to his residence after his arrest in
order to retrieve records necessary to prepare his return.
Petitioner also maintains that certain records were thrown out by
the U.S. Marshals before the forfeiture sale of his building. We
are not impressed with petitioner's arguments. The
unavailability of records does not necessarily establish
reasonable cause for failure to file timely. See Electric &
Neon, Inc. v. Commissioner, 56 T.C. 1324, 1342-1344 (1971), affd.
without published opinion 496 F.2d 876 (5th Cir. 1974). An
individual must file a timely return based on the best
information available, and he or she may then file an amended
return, if necessary. Estate of Vriniotis v. Commissioner,
79 T.C. 298, 311 (1982). Petitioner was allowed access to his
building in January 1988 to remove any records or other items
left after the search. Petitioner failed to establish that
specific records needed to prepare his 1987 return were
unavailable, and the record herein does not indicate that he
tried to obtain information from other sources. See Crocker v.
Commissioner, 92 T.C. 899, 913 (1989) (delinquency penalty upheld
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